To think some little things make a house look expensive?

Look at your paint choices - anything wild or really specific think about going neutral, if you have any of the dark Farrow and ball esque blues they can probably stay but anything else pick a nice warm neutral / off white - not a grey

I hate dark colours so they would put me off immediately. I do want well proportioned rooms with lots of natural light.

Clean fresh walls .. some nice large plants .. no clutter.. light open space.
That's what I'd look for.

I stripped my house right back years ago, all pictures/ artwork removed from walls, all walls painted white. We have wooden floors downstairs, no unnecessary furniture and very few 'bits' on shelves. I was amazed at the effect, I felt I could breathe easier and all the clutter had been oppressive

I actually think there is a point styling it. When we were looking at houses, out of date decor and cheap surface decoration put me off massively.

We bought a place that had been redesigned by a budding interior designer, and it was (and still is) fabulous. They had rethought the house so the rooms and layout were ideal.

In addition they had a little girl whose room - although modestly sized - and she had beautiful, understated but stylish items.

We probably paid a bit more as a result, but with two little children and two full time jobs, I don't regret that. We didn't have to do loads of work on it- although my husband did anyway to "make it his own".

We tend to buy renovation projects so the frippery things that people add to dress a property don't have any effect on our wanting a property or not. However we do want it to be reasonably clean so that we can live in it whilst we plan the work - and often we also live in it whilst the work is being done. I wouldn't buy something with a disgustingly greasy kitchen or a smelly unusable bathroom, even if we planned to replace them quickly.
Last time we bought a probate sale. The agent later told me that the whole place had been a bit grubby so the owner's son had cleared it of unecessary furniture, cleaned it thoroughly, and painted over some dated beige wallpaper. It did make it easier for us to move in for the few months that we lived there before the renovation.

I wouldn't bother with "objects" and would never be swayed by what others might think were interesting.

Clean, tidy, no clutter, nice smell.

Very clean, all rooms relatively uncluttered (but not bare), no family photos or knick-knacks. Clean/new towels, tea towels and dishcloths (just for viewings), uncreased bedding or bedcover (just for viewings), flowers or plant in a pot if you feel like it (scented, one colour or toning). Bottles of handwash to make it easier to clean near sinks. Clean windows.
Last time we sold we listened to the agent and he said to move the furniture about to make the room look as large as possible and give a clear view of the lovely view from the window, it did look better.

I would never bother to redecorate unless the walls and paintwork were really grubby.

Ridiculous...!

Deep clean
Remove any weeds from front of the house and put lovely pots in the front so it's welcoming and bright/fresh.

Make the back garden appealing too like it's another room

Get the window cleaners - inside and out

Bleach tiles and floors so they're clean and fresh

Make it smell nice but not such that it seems you're covering smells, fresh flowers are always nice

Declutter!

The trouble is that everyone thinks they aren't affected by this stuff, but on a subconscious level most of us are. It's like adverts - people claim they aren't influenced but it wouldn't be a multi-billion pound industry if it were ineffective!

I walked into a house that had the oven on and a roast cooking. They obviously hadn't cleaned it in far, far too long and the smell of rancid meat fat put me off so much I just turned around and left. Yes, it could have been a great house. Yes, I could have factored a new oven into the cost of the house. However, it was just 'that awful smelling house' in my memory and I didn't want to be there.

Similarly, there was a house with a bunch of sweetpeas in a vase in the hall. My first thought was "how lovely" and I looked at the rest of the house with a much more well-disposed eye because it smelled so good as I entered. It was only afterwards, comparing it to a near identical house two streets over, that I realised why I'd felt that way.

Who wants a doss house?
I'm never put off by items on the coffee table, the presence of a toaster, or hand wash.
I genuinely think you ought not to be swayed by what you're not buying. Clean and tidy? Fine.
Not my taste in soft furnishings? No problem.

It's the feeling/atmosphere the house gives you

If you want it as a home not a doer-upper it needs to feel like a home, not a doss house and even if it's not entirely your taste

DH is a developer.

Last year he built/sold over 1000 houses/flats.

The show home always sells for significantly more than identical other properties and that’s in an environment where the other homes are still immaculate.

Some people lack the imagination to see themselves in a space. Some times choices are conscious and people are actively seeking a space in relation to which they have to do nothing. Sometimes the subconscious takes over and they are attracted to elements that evoke the past or future dreams.

We’re all open to the power of suggestion, even those that think they’re getting a bargain fixer upper - DH has been known to make a place that he wants to offload look more like a fixer upper than a tired family home because it attracts the project seekers!

The Pampers!😂

If this thread has taught me anything it's that if i'm ever gonna sell a house i won't take too much notice of people who come back to me with silly feedback about packets being out on a table. They really weren't serious buyers anyway.

I think its just that some people can't imagine how a house could look so you have to show them. You must have friends who would love to change something in their house but don't know 'how' so end up just painting the walls a slightly different shade of the same colour and getting new sofas exactly the same when they wear out because its safer?

Those same people buy houses but they can only see the house as they see it - so if it looks like somewhere they want to live, even if they know that in reality their furniture is different, they can see themselves living there.

When we moved into our current house about half our friends/family immediately went "wow - hard work but the potential" and the other half either smiled politely or came right out and asked us why we bought such a shithole. They just couldn't see how it will be (one day!) even assuming we got it cheap and knew what we wanted to do.

Please don't try - save for your next house. To sell this one, have it as clear as you can ... No personal objects on display. The buyers want to imagine how they will live there not see how you live there.

‘ETA: Do not shove all your clutter in any built in cupboard or wardrobe, in my experience people will open them and have a nosy!’

Yep, we opened the airing cupboard and an electric drill bounced out. I just managed to avoid it hitting my foot. On the second viewing they hadn’t bothered to move the giant economy sized pack of (unused) Pampers from the coffee table.

We bought the house, but we made a lower offer than if it had been pristine, and I suspect other people were more put off than us.

If it's a dull day put some lamps on.
Make sure the heating is on, nothing worse than visiting a cold house.

If you have a garage make sure it is also decluttered, so buyers can see that they could fit a car in.

Open doors before a viewing, so light gets into the hallways and creates a flow. Make sure there is no furniture blocking anything, so viewers can easily move around the house.

Lots of people work from home, if possible have a desk and chair set up somewhere to suggest this.

Yes, that could explain some of the suggestions like hand soap and magazines 😉

Not read the thread, but I think the smell. We have a nice reed diffuser in the hallway. (Posh hotels always have a fragrance....)

Hmmm, this thread is making me suspect that the ones looking for a "lifestyle" are really just looking for something to do as an afternoon activity. It really used to be a thing you know, spend sunday afternoon looking at houses you were'nt gonna buy.

Uncluttered, neat and clean. Clear worktops in the kitchen, bathroom not full of bottles and jars all over the place, no manky towels etc on show (make this a rule so it doesn't look 'studied'). Tidy cupboards if they are built in (only CF's open free-standing robes!) and clothes put away - to give impression of plenty of storage space!
Garden to look 'in season' e.g. in winter and early spring it should look neat even if there is not a great deal of plant life, by which I mean it should look as if you do garden and it's not too onerous a job.
When expecting viewers some say fresh coffee is a good idea - the smell is alluring. I prefer fresh bread, myself, so you could buy a bread-maker if you don't have one, and have it on.
Decoration. Usually neutral tones but if your house is not neutral don't start painting walls beige for the sale - it won't go with your other decor anyway and new paintwork tends to make people wonder if the place is damp. Just spruce up, hang well-placed pictures. A few books or mags in the living room makes it look homely, as do open fires if you have one. It's amazing what a bit of a tidy up can achieve (I need to do it today - and not selling house!).